Embossing machine



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Mar. 13, 1923..

A. H. BATES EMBOSSING MACHINE Original Filed Feb. 11, 1920 6 sheets-sheet l I-IIIYIIII I m M M Mar. 13, 1923.

A. H. BATES EMBOSSING MACHINE 6 sheets-sheet Original File-d Feb. 11, 1920 35411071101, I w: fla /2 Original Fild Feb. 11, 1920 6 sheets-sheet 5 Mar. 13, 1923.

A. BATES EMBQSSING MACHINE Original Fiied Feb. 11, 1920 6 sheets-sheet 4 Mar. 13, 1923.

A. H. BATES EMBOSSING MACHINE Original Filed. Feb. 11, 1920 6 sheets-sheet 5 ,Arfazawxzfs Mar. 13, 1923. 1,448,375

A. H. BATES EMBOSSING MACHINE Original Filed Feb. 11, 1920 6 sheets-sheet 6 .JZZVVENT Z ,A TT ORA/E145 Patented Mar. 13, 1823.

arrears UNETEF gTATEh FATENT @FFEQE.

ALBERT H. BATES, OF CLEVELAND EHGHTS... OHIO, ASSIGNOR T0 MULTIGRAPH COMPANY, OF CLEVELAND,

ran amnnroaiv OHIO, a coarona'rron' or omo.

EMBOSSING" llEACHINE.

Application filed February 11, 1920, Serial No. 357,888. Renewed April 17, .1922. Serial No. 553,918.

To aZZ whom it mary concern:

Be it known that I, ALBERT H. BATES, a citizen of, the United States, residing at Cleveland Heights, in the county of Guyahoga and State of Ohio, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Em-- bos'sing 'Machines, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying draw- 1H s.

Ihis invention relates to a machine actuated'by a keyboard and adapted to emboss letter and numeral characters on a strip of material adapted for use in an addressing.

machine. The machine is of that type wherein thereare a pair of cooperating rota'ry die' carriers, the position of which is dependent upon the key actuated, the particular dies thus placed being then caused to impress an interposed strip of material.

Reference is made to the following patents for a fuller showing and description of parts shown herein incidental to the die carrier, the dies and their immediate operating mechanism, namely:

Patent No. 582,178, May 11,1897, W. E. Crane, for a Machine for producing printing purposes.

Patent No. 875,679, January 7 1908, F. H. Alling, for a Clutch for reliefographs.

Patents Nos. 883,399, 883,400 and 883.401. R, Grieser, respectively for Feeding mechanism for reliefographs, die carriers, and carriage operating mechanism for reliefora hs.

g he resent invention is concerned with means fhr enabling the embossing to be of fected in both upper! and lower case characters, the patents mentioned operating only with single case characters. the desired result without unduly increasing the sizeof the machine, or the centrifugal, force of the rotating parts, by means of a shift mechanism) which enables the same general operating mechanism to actuate different sets of characters as desired.

My invention includes'the feature of two sets of independent dies for upper and lower case characters respectively, and means for shifting the sets to present either set to active position. The invention includes also a preferred way of carrymg out this feature, comprising arranging the dies in two annular sets and providing each set with a longitudinal bodily shifting movement in intermediate I accomplish addition to its rotary-positioning and radial-embossing movement. More particuthe other into pqsition to be operated by unger mechanism driven from a common source. The invention comprises also the embodiment illustrated in the drawings hereof, and hereinafter de scribed in detail.

In the drawings Fig. l is a side elevation of the embossing machine; Fig. 2 is an enlarged longitudinal sectional side elevation of the die carrier portion thereof; Fig. 3

is a cross section between the setsof die carriers; Fig. 4.- is a perspective of" one of the-plunger-operating cam-heads; Fig. 5 is a perspective of one ofthe yoke-like plungers; Fig. .6 is a diagrammatic section of a pairof coacting dies. Fig. 7 is a side elevation of theclutch mechariisnnand adjacent parts, certain parts being shown in section. Fig. 8'is an end view of one of the clutch members. Fig. 9 is a section through the clutch member on the line 9-9 indicated in Fig. 8. Fig. 10 is a section through certain parts of the clutch member shown in dies the shifting Fig. .8 taken on the line 10-10 indicated therein. Fig. 11 is a View similar to Fig. 10

showing the parts in different positions." Fig. 12 is an end elevation ofthe parts shown in Figs. 1.0 and 11. Fig. 13 is a. sepa- Fig. 14 is a.

rate view of the trip lever. view of the arm carrying the trip lever. Fig. 15 is aseparate view of the cam lever for shifting the locking pawl. Fig. 16 is. an end view of the spring clutch member.

I will first describe the machine shown in Fig. 1. This machine has a frame 1 in which are journaled a pair of parallel shafts 2 and 3, each of which hason it two disklike die carriers 5 and 5 and 6 and 6. The dies 4 hereinafter described of the die carriers on one shaft are. male dies; and those of thedie carriers on the other shaft are female dies and substantially complemen:

tary thereto; the die of one coacting pair of carriers, as 5 and 6, have upper casecharacdriving'pulley 11 having a conical friction surface 12 a ainst which bear clutch shoes 13 connected with the shaft 3 in a manner to be hereinafter described. lit thus results that the pulley may continuously rotate the die carriers at the same speed, those on the respective shafts turning in opposite directions.

On the shaft 3 is a stop arm 20. At the rear of this stop arm and placed equi-distantly about the axis of the shaft 3 is a series of slidable stop pins 21 guided in a suitable frame support 22 and each connected with one of the corresponding finger-key levers 25. When a finger-key is depressed the'corresponding pin is progected into the path of the stop arm, whereby the two shafts are stopped with complementary die bloclrsfam ing each other. The arrangement of key levers, stop pins, stop arms, shafts and gears may-for instance be of the form'shown in the Ailing patent mentioned.

.Whenever the die carriers are stopped to present the dies corresponding to the de 25 pressed key to each other, it is necessary that these diesbe moved toward each other toimpress an interposed plate. This mechanism as shown comprises a single rotation clutch thrown into action automatically by the so stoppage ofthe stop arm. This clutch is in the interior of the pulley 1-1. It has a driven shaft carrying a pair of eccentrics which operate links 31 connected to oscillating! arms 32 pivoted at 33. The forward ends of 85 these arms push against plunger mechanism which operates to shoveupwardly the topmost die in a lower carrier and shove downwardly the lowermost die in an upper carrier, thus efi'ecting the embossing operation 40 on an intermediate plate.

The means by which the stoppage of the stop arm throws into action the single rotation clutch is immaterial to the present invention. It maybe of the form shown in the patent of Alling where the'stop arm has a hub 40 hearing a cam face coacting with a complementary cam face on a sleeve 41 surrounding the shaft and connected with s ring arms carrying the driving. clutch s oes 13 and adapted to move longitudinally to actuate thenormally-idle single-rotation internal clutch connected with the eccentrics. 1

With s'uch m'echanism as just mentioned,

when a key is depressed and pin projected, the stop arm engaging such pin stops the two carriers and stops the hub 40; the frictional drive, however, continues to carry forward the sleeve 41 which, by reason of the cam connection, moves longitudinally against the action of a spring. In such longitudinal movement it throws into engagement the internal clutch which connects the shaft carrying the eccentrics with the driving pulley. This clutch may be of the type shown in the Ailing patent or may be some other type of single-rotation clutch. When this clutch is thrown into engagement the eccentric shaft makes asingle rotation, an'dthis movement shoves the plungers in wardly and then withdraws them, the clutch automatically disengaging itself at the end of a single rotation. F or the sake of completeness, there is shown in Figs. 7 to 16 inclusive a clutch mechanism which may be employed. This mechanism, is shown merely by way of example. The description thereof is given at the end of the specification.

The mechanism so far described for radially positioning the dies and operating their plungers is not specifically a part of my invention and may be varied as desired. The important characteristics of this mechanism, as far as my invention is concerned, is thatthe depression of a key causes stopping of the rotary die carriers with the complementary corresponding die blocks facing each other, and then automatically operates the plungers to project the die blocks to effect the embossing.

Any suitable means (not shown) may be employed to position the plates to be embossed between the die carriers and to feed such plate step by step following each inn pression to bring it into position for receiving the next letter. A plate-holding and feeding mechanism .is illustrated for example in the two patents to Grieser, 883,399 and 883,401, mentioned.

As heretofore stated, my invention is concerned with the provisions enabling upper and lower case characters to be embossed. To effect this without making the machine complicated or bulky or unduly increasin the centrifugal force of the die carriers, provide two carriers facing each other on till till

each shaft and each having a set of dies for upper or lower case characters, respectively, and I arrange suitable shift mechanism so that either pair of carriers may be positioned to cooperate with intermediate plunger mechanism, this shift mechanism being actuated by a shift key or lever in or adjacent to the keyboard. I will now describe this specific embodiment:

The die carriers on the two shafts are exactly alike, their dies 4 differing in that the dies on one shaft are male and the ones on the other shaft are female. The two die carriers on each shaft are likewise alike, though they face in opposite direct'ions, v Each die carrier is substalntially like that shown in Patent No. 883L400 to. R. 'Grieser, above referred to. Each carrier has a hub portion 60 with an enlarged head 61, in which are radial parallel sided passageways 62. The passageways are preferably made by making the head in two disc-like parts, each part beea ers ing grooved and the two parts thereafter secured together. The dies 4L, occupying the radial passageways, arepressedrinwardly by individual springs- 63. The two facing carriers 5 and 5 are mounted on a shaft 70, which is keyed to the shaft 2. Similarly the carriers 6 and 1 6* are mounted on. a

shaft 71, slidably keyed to the shaft 3. The

' chine.

Suitable shift key mechanism is provided for shifting the die carrier frame and the die carriers longitudinally of the machine to bring either set into active position. For this purpose I have shown a pair ofrock arms 80 connecting links 81 with the carrier frame 74. These rock arms are mounted on a rock shaft 83 which has a rock arm 84 which acts as a shift lever or is connected with a shift key not shown; Some suitable catch such as catch 84 shown in Fig. 2 may e used to hold the shift mechanism in the position of Fig. 2 against the action of the spring 85.

Intermediate of the die carriers on either of the shafts 70 or 71 is a plunger mech-- anism connected with the oscillating arms 32 and adapted to be operated thereby to shove outwardly the uppermost and lower- 'most dies to effect the embossing. This plunger mechanism is so designed that it will be efiective only on the dies in that carrier which is in active position. To accomplish this result I provide the following mechanism:

90 indicates a pair of cross bars of the frame ofthe machine, each having in it. a vertical guiding passageway in which is mounted therectangular shank 91 of a head 92 which engages and operates the plunger proper; The far end of the shank is formed with an opening 9% into which the end of the oscillating lever 32 extends. A plunger is provided for each die carrier and comprises a bar 95 slidably guided by a hollow boss on the shiftable frame 74- and yoking around the shaft or 71, and at its inner end guided behind the overhanging portion 66 of the carrier. The plungers may be of the form shown in Fig. 5. and stand in pairs with the flat face of their shanks engaging each other.

The cam head 92 has a double cam face, one surface 97 rising from the front end toward the rear, and the other surface 98 receding. One of the plunger-s engages one of these surfaces, and the other plunger the other surface, and they are maintained in this engagement bysuitalole leaf springs 99 secured to the frame 74:, and. bearing against the inner surface of lateral feet 96 on the plunger-"s. The plungers are of such length that when they are both engaging theintermediate level of the head 92 at the forward end of the head the plunger which extends toward therear and coacts with the dies of the carrierse or 6 has its active end close to such dies and is in position to operate them when the head is moved inwardly by the oscillation of the oscillating lever 32. lhe other plungers, however, in this position clear the dies of the front carriers sufficiently so that these dies are not moved, notwithstanding the plunging action of the plungers, This is the position illustrated; in Fig. 2.

When the shift key is operated, not only are the carriers shifted to the rear, but each plunger 95'which was active slides down the incline 98 of the head into inactive position, while each plunger which was inactive slides up the incline 97 of the head and becomes active. Accordingly, in this position, the same actuationof the. oscillating levers operates the dies of the front carriers, but has no efiect on the dies of the rear carriers.

It will he seen that in the mechanism I have described there are provided two sets of dies forupper and lower case, respectively, so arranged that they may be readily interchanged in effective position; that the interchange is effected by the simple actuation of a shift lever; that the same movement of this shift lever automatically changes the plunger connection so that only the properly positioned dies are active. The mechanism is simple and is effectedwithout increasing the diameter of the die carriers. In machines of this type, when the carriers rotate rapidly, it its-desirable to avoid such increasein diameter on account of the increased centrifugal force which would result. v

It is to he understood that modifications may be made in the specific mechanisms employed for accomplishing the desired result, and l-do not intend to limit myself to the particular mechanism shown.

In order to have a showing of a com pletely operative machine, I have shown in Figs. 7-to 16 inclusive, details of the clutch mechanism substantially as shown and deconstantly rotating type wheels with the desired characters opposite. The shafts 3 and 2 are. connected for rotation in unison by equal gears 7 and 8. The shaft 3 carrying the gear 7 is rotated by a shaft member il carrying a friction clutch member 13.

The clutch member engages with a clutch rin 12 of the clutch member or pulley 11 whlch is constantly rotated by any suitable means, such as a belt 108. @n the shaft 3,

' die "wheels with the character corresponding to the key lever in printing position.

Upon the arresting of the shafts 3 and 2 "of the printing members, means are shown for bringing them together, which are operated by connecting. rods reciprocated by eccentrics on the driving shaft.

eccentrics 30 that are connected with the clutch member 11 constantly driven "from the belt 108.

' As shown, the clutch member secured to the shaft member 11 is composed of a cross arm 121 or" resilient material, carrying diametrally opposite friction blocks 122 that are pressed tightly against the friction rim 12. By this means, the shaft 41 is normally rotated from the clutch member 11, but upon arrest of the printing member shafts 3 and 2 by means of the stop arm 20, the clutch arm 121 will be arrested, and the clutch blocks will slip on the rim 12 until the release of the printing members, when the clutch members will at once grip and rotate the shaft 41.

The eccentrics 30 are not rigidly secured to the clutch member'l2, but are normally loose therefrom, and a pawl and ratchet mechanism isprovided for connecting these members upon the pawl being shifted by the operation of mechanism controlled by the arrest of the shaft 3. The eccentrics are secured to a shaft 123 that is rotatable in a sleeve bearing member 12 1 projecting from an upright 125. journal on which rotates the clutch member 11, a friction sleeve 126 being preferably fast on, the sleeve 124. A retaining plate 127 is threaded on the reduced end 128 of the sleeve 12% and engages a shoulder portion 129 on the recessed face of the clutch member. The clutch member 11 is provided with ratchet teeth 130 on its internal -lace, which teeth are engaged by trpawl 132 pivoted on an arm 133 that is test on'the ertremit pawl is normally retained out of engage- As illu trated, the said means are constituted by the The sleeve 12% forms a essors of the wrist pin shaft 123. The

ment with the ratchet wheel or clutch member 11,.but upon engaging the same, the rotation of the clutch'member 11 will carry the eccentric shaft around and cause actua tion of the printing members.

Means 'are provided for shifting the pawl into engaging position upon the arrest of the shaft member 11, and when the the cocentric shaft has made a complete revolution, the pawl is thrown out of engagement with the ratchet wheel. A cam lever 134 in the shape of a ring, as shown separately in Fig. 15, is pivoted on the plate 127, that is stationary on the bearing sleeve 12%. This ring has a raised'edge or peripheral portion 135, that normally engages the tail of the pawl 132, and holds itsopposite end out of engagement with the ratchet wheel. The other edge portions 01 the cam ring are of less distance from the axis or the shaft 123. The cam ring can be rocked on its axis 136, and when moved inward, its engaging portion 135 will no longer support the tail of the ratchet 132, as shown in Fig. 11. This will permit a suitable spring to throw the ratchet outward to engage the ratchet wheel. The constantly rotating ratchet wheel will thereby carry the arm 133and shaft 123 around. But the cam ring is normally pressed outward and retained in the position shown in Fig- 10, by means of a plate spring 137 last on the stop plate 127. As soon as the pawl passes the engaging portion 135 of greatest diameter of the ring 13 1, the cam ring will be moved outward to its former position by the spring 137 which movement is limited by means of a screw 138 last on the cam ring and having a nut 13%) engaging the stop plate 127. Upon the pawl approaching the end of a revolution, its tail will engage a cam or inclined portion 140 that terminates in the said elevated edge ortion 135; and the. cam being returne to normal position, the pawl end will ride up this incline to the edge portion 135, and thereby be swung out of engagement with the ratchet wheel. p

The cam ring 134 is depressed by means of atrip lever 141 on the arm 133. The arm 133 has a slotted portion 142 in which is pivotally mounted av block 143. The lever x141 is'pivoted on this block and therefore has a swinging movement on the lever in the two directions at right angles. The lever 141 carries a trip pin 144 having a beveled extremity 145, that in. the normal position of the lever is in engagement with the face of cam ring 131-, at a place 1 17 as shown in Figs. 10 and 15. When the lever 141 is in this position, and is moved inward, it will swing the cam lever and release the pawl, permitting the latter to engage the ratchet wheel.

Should the lever 1411 be held depressed, it would follow the cam ring around engaging therewith until it reaches the hinged portion of the ring, the cam ring being now returned to its. normal position by its spring. But after passing the hinge portion, the pin will move inside the ring because its internal diameter is here enlarged 'beyond the radial distance of the trip pin from the axis, at 146. The pin will thereupon ride inside of the cam ring at its enlarged portion. The stop'pin is normally located oppositethe portion 147 of the cam ring, where the internal radius is less than at the portion 146. This portion 147 is oposite the engagin portion 135 of the ring. flencethe inner ace of the ring that engages the trip pin when in the depressed position must have an inwardly inclined portion 148 and the stop pin will be there completion of a revolutiomthe stop pin will ride inside the cam ring andremain in such position withgut again depressing the cam ring permitting the disengagement of the pawl with the ratchet wheel by the incline 140. If the stop lever were releasedim mediately upon disengaging the tail of the ratchet from the cam lever, as soon as the pawl" approached the completion of its revolution, the stop pin would return to this normal engaging. position ready for again tripping the cam lever to disengage the pawl. But if the trip leverbe held in its inward position, it will be moved centrally inward by the engagement of the internal face of the cam lever at 146 and cannot engage the cam lever at the completion of the revolution to move it out of position to swing the pawl out of engaging position. Aspring 150 is arranged between the pawl 132 and the lever 141, which tends to swing the pawl outwardly into engagement with the ratchet wheel, and also tends in swing the lever 141 to move its stop pin away from the clutch axis. This spring will cause the pawl to engage the ratchet wheel as soon as it is released from the cam ring. The spring will also swing the trip lever to move its stop pin outwardly as soon as it is released after having moved inward from engage- 'ment with the inner face of the cam ring.

The trip lever 141 is moved outwardly from the face of the carrying arm 133 by means of a plate spring 151 and .its' movement is limited by astop 152, in both directions from the actions of said springs.

The trip lever 141 is actuated at each arrest of the printing members by the key lever stops, through a longitudinal movement given to the clutch member on shaft 41. in the present instance this is accomplished by the sleeve 41 and hub 40. The sleeve 41 is secured to the spring piece 121 of the clutch member, and surrounds the extension 156 of the shaft 3. The sleeve 41 has one or a pair of notches, one of which is shown in Fig. 7. The notch has an incline surface 157. The hub 40 has a correspondingly inclined portion 159. A coil spring 160 on the shaft 156 has its extremities secured to the shaft and sleeve respectively. The spring is arranged to normally press the sleeve 41 against the hub 40 by its cxpansive tendency, and 1) its torsional construction it will tend to ho d the two members in the engaging position shown in 1. But upon arrest of the hub 40 by reason of stop arm 20 engaging a stop pin 15, the continued rotation of the clutch member would tend to rotate the sleeve 41 on the shaft 156, and hence rotate it relativeto the hub 40.

The engagement of the inclined faces 15'? and 159'will cause an endwise advancement of" the sleeve 41, advancing the clutch arm 121 to engage the trip pin 144 and operate the'clutch member as hereinbefore set forth; causing rotation of the eccentrics for one revolution only. This rotation of sleeve 41 will be arrested by reason of stop portion 151 cominginto engagement with a stop portion 162 on the inclined face 159. Thereupon further rotation of the sleeve 41 is prevented, the clutch member 13 sliding on its engaging face of the clutch me'mber12. But

upon release of the stop arm 20, the hub 40 will be free to rotate, and will be carried around with the sleeve 41 by reason of the frictional engagement between the clutch members. As soon as the hub 40' is free to rotate, the spring 160 will tend to untwist and advance the hub 40, because the spring was put under torsional strain when the sleeve 41 advanced upon arrest of the hub 40. This will advance the hub 40 ton position in which the sleeves are in the same rotative position on the shaft, but the sleeve 41 has not been shifted axially upon the shaft so that the sleeve and hub.

may be still separated axially, with the surfaces 157 and 159 out of contact. Any compression that is-put upon the spring 160 during the advancement o l the sleeve 41 would tend to react and cause axial movement to. return sleeve 41 to the position of Fig. 7, but this might be prevented by friction on the sleeve. To insure the return of the sleeve 41 to its former position, the notch in the sleeve 4111s provided with another inclined face 186; and the hub.40 is provided with a similar inclined face 187. The advance of the hub 40 by the torsional action of spring 160 will bring these inclined faces into engagement and it will be undertoward the hub until the parts reach the position shown in Fig. 7. This will reti rn the clutch bar 121 to its former position and disengage the trip pin 144:.

I claim:

1, The combination with two sets of in-- dependently movable male dies and two sets of independently movable female dies cooperative therewith, ofmeans for rendering active either cooperative set of male and female dies, i

2. The combination of an upper case'set of embossing dies, a lower case set of embossing dies, two rotary holders for the two setmand means for shifting the two holders to bring either set of dies into active position'.

3. In an embossing machine, the combination with a pair oi cooperative sets of male and female dies, of means for carrying such cooperative dies in a manner to render the dies independently movable, operating mechanism for the dies, and a shift mechanism for presenting either cooperative pair of di ,s to the operating mechanism.

a. "ii an embossing machine, the combination with means for carrying and operating cooperating character dies, each die being movable independently of the others, of shift mechanism for causing a difierent set of characters to act on the article being embossed. 5., in an embossing machine, the combination with means for carrying and operating cooperating letter dies, each die being formed as an independently movable individual block of a shirt mechanism for changing from upper to lower case, and vice versa.

6. The combination with two pairs of cooperative rotary die carriers, of dies carried thereby arranged. in two related sets, and a. shift mechanism for shifting the four carriers to cause either set to be active.

7, The combination of four rotary die.

carriers of male and female upper case dies and male and female lower case dies carried thereby respectively, and mechanism for changing from one case to. the other.

v8. 'lhecombination'of a pair of rotary die carriers on the same axis and facing each other, keyboard actuated stopping mechanism for the carriers, operating mechanism extending between the two car-' riers, and shifting mechanism to present either carrier to the operating mechanism.

9. The combination of a pair of rotary die carriers having male and female upper case'dies, and a second pair of rotary die carriers having male and female lower case dies, means for rotating the carriers, keyboard actuated stopping mechanism for the carriers, a pair of operating mechanisms for the said dies, and manually actuated shifting mechanism to shift the carriers relative to the operating mechanism.

ea-acre 'means for operating the shifting mechanisms 11. The combination of twopairs of ro tary die carriers, mounted two each on two parallel shafts, means for rotating the carriers, keyboard mechanism for stopping the die carriers with cooperatingdies facing each other, said dies beingindependently movable and on each shaft presenting two sets of characters, and shift mechanism for rendering one set active and the other inactive with reference to the article to be impressed.

12. The combination of rotary die carriers, means for continuously rotating them, meansfor stopping the rotation, keyboard mechanism for actuating the last mentioned means, four sets of independent dies for male and female upper and lower case mounted in the carriers, shifting mechanism to cause difierent sets of dies to be presented to the article to be impressed, and means for operating the shifting mechanism.

13. The combination of rotary die carriers on a pair of parallelaires, means for continuously rotating carriers, means for stopping the rotation, keyboard mechanism for actuating the last mentioned means, four sets of independently movable dies (male and female, upper and lower case) mounted in said carrierajmeans for giving the dies their embossing movement consequent upon the stoppage of the rotation, shifting mechanism to cause difi'erent sets of dies to be presented to the article being impressed, and-means for operating the shifting mechanism;

14. The combination with die carriers, and independently-movable dies arranged in four'sets therein male andfemale, upper andiower case-of keyboard controlled positioning; mechanism therefor, aut dmatically operating means forgiving the positioned dies their embossing movement, and shift mechanism for giving the dies another movement to change the case of the characters which are-active.

15. The combination with rotary die carriers, means for rotating them, keyboard mechanism for stopping their rotation, four sets of independently movable dies (male and female, upper and lowercase) mounted 'in said carriers, automatically actuated mechanism for giving the positioned dies their embossing movement, when stopped, and means {or giving the carriers a move- Hill ill)

ment other than their positioning movement to change from upper to lower case and vice versa. 7

16. The combination with rotary die carriers, an upper case set of male and female dies and a lower case set of male and female dies carried thereby, each of said dies being movable independent of the other, means for rotating the carriers to present corresponding die carriers to each other, keyboard mechanism for stopping such rotation, automatically actuated mechanism for moving into cooperation one of. the pairs of male and female dies which face each. other, without so moving the other facing pair when stopped, and shift mechanism to change the presentation from upper to lower case and vice versa.

17. The combination with rotary die carriers, of two pairs of sets of radially and independently movable dies carried thereby, means for rotating them, keyboard mechanism for stopping them in the rota tion, automatically actuated mechanism for moving radially one pair of dies which face each other, without moving the other pair of facing dies, and means for moving the carriers simultaneously to change from upper to lower case and vice versa. c

18. The combination of two pairs of sets of independently movable dies, each pair ineluding a set of male'dies and a cooperating set of female dies, the sets of one pair being upper case and those of the other pair being lower case, the two sets of male dies being mounted on one shaft and the two sets of female dies on a parallel shaft,'shift-mechanism for simultaneously shifting the four sets, and a pair of operating mechanisms each extending between the two sets on a shaft and adapted to operate either set.

19. The combination of two pairs of sets of individually movable dies. each pair including a series of male dies and a cooperating series of female dies, keyboard mechanism for positioning them, shift mechanism for determining which sets are active, and mechanism common to the two sets adapted to operate either set to move its dies individually, and means whereby such-mechanism acts only on the sets which are in active position.

20. The combination of a plurality of pairs of sets of dies, each set including a series of individually movable dies, rotary carriers one for each set of dies, keyboard mechanism for simultaneously positioning all of the carriers with respect to their rela-. tive shift mechanisms for simultaneously moving all of the carriers axially, and mechanism adapted to operate the set positioned by the shift mechanism, mechanism being operated automatically consequent upon the rotary positioning of the dies selected by the keys.

' mechanism for stopping the rotation, mechanism for operating individual die blocks of one carrier on each shaft without operating the die blocks of the other carriers,

a single rotation clutch operating the last mentioned mechanism and actuated by the stopping of the carriers, a-ndshi'ft mechanism to enable either of two sets of die blocks to be active.

22. The combination of four longitudinally shiftable rotary die carriers, two sets of independently movable male-dies and two sets of independently movable female dies carried thereby, respectively, mechanism for continuously'rotating the four carriers, keyboard controlled mechanism for-stopping the four carriers, mechanism for operating the individual dies, a single rotation clutch operating the last mentioned mechanism and actuated by the stopping of the carriers, key actuated shift mechanism for shifting the carriers axially to present eitherpair of carriers to the embossing position, and means whereby only the dies in such presented carriers are actuated by the operating mechanism.

23. The combination of two pairs of rotary die carriers, each carrier having independent radially movable die blocks, means for continuously rotating the carriers, keyboard controlled mechanism for stopping the rotation, automatic mechanism actuated by such stopping to move radially outward one pair of dies which face each other to impress an intermediate plate, and means for preventing radial movement of the other pair of dies which face each other at the same time.

24. The combination of a pair of rotary die-holding devices, each having two sets of radially movable die blocks, the die blocks of one set having an upper case and the die blocks of the other set a lower case character, the dies in one. holding device be. ing male and those in the other female, means for continuously rotating the ,said holding devices, keyboard controlled mechanism for stopping the rotation, shifting mechanism for causing registration of eitherupper or lower case characters as desired with the plate to be embossed, and automatic mechanism actuated by the said stopping to cause dies which face each other to impress an intermediate plate, said automatic mechanism including a part positioned by the said shifting mechanism to connect the automatic mechanis only with the selected upper or lower case die blocks.

Q5. The combination of two pairs of rotary die carriers, male die blocks in one carrier of each pair, and female die blocks in the other carrier of each pair, each die block being movable independently of each other die block, means for continuously rotating the carriers, keyboard controlled means for simultaneously shifting the four carriers to bring either pair to active position, mechanism for stopping the rotation, embossing mechanism actuated by such'stopping and including parts moved by the shifting to cause one of the pairs of dies which face each other to impress an intermediate plate, while the other pair of dies which face each other is idle.

26.-The combination with rotary die carr1 ers of four sets of individually movable die membeis carried thereby (namely, male and female dies for theupper and lower case), means for rotating the carriers, keyboard controlled mechanism for stopping the rotation to position a pair of die members corresponding to the key actuated, shift mechanism to determine whether upper or lower case dies are in registration with the article to be embossed, die-projecting mechanism automatically operated consequent upon the said stopping of the rotatlon, and means operated by the shift mechanism for automatically connecting the dieprojecting mechanism with the set of dies which is in registration with said article.

27. The combination of'a shaft, two rotary die carriers thereon, individually -movable die members carried thereby, means for rotating the shaft to position the diemembers, an oscillating lever, plunger mechanism operated thereby and extending between the two die carriers, means for moving the two carriers longitudinaily of the axis of rotation to select the set of die members with which to emboss, and means whereby such movement positions the plunger mechanism so that it is active only on the dies in the positioned carrier.

28. The combination of rotary die-holders, individually movable male and female die members carried thereby respectively, and arranged in a plurality of annular sets side by side vabout the same axis and each adapted to be projected radially, means for rotating the carriers, keyboard controlled mechanism for stopping the rotation to hold 29. The combination of a pair of rotary.

die holder s, each holder having radial slots,

dies in said slots arranged in two annular sets for upper and lower case, respectively, the dies of one holder being male and those of the other female, means for rotating the die holders in appropriate direction at the same speed, means for stopping the rotation, mechanism for moving radially dies in the two holders which face each other when stopped, keyboard mechanism controlling the stopping of the holders, a single rotation clutch automatically actuated by such stoppin for operating the radial movement mec anism, and a manually operated shift mechanism for simultaneously shifting the two die holders relatively'to the intermediate plate to be embossed, said radial movement mechanism including a part shifted by the shift mechanism to connect the radial movement mechanism with the selected set of dies.

30. The combination with two pairs of rotary die carriers, male and female, upper case dies in one pair, male and female lower case dies in the other pair, ashaft carrying both of the male carriers, a parallel shaft carrying both of the female carriers, a shiftable housing on the two shafts embracing the four carriers, and means for simultaneously rotating the two shafts.

31. The combination of two parallel shafts, mechanism for continuously rotating them, keyboard controlled mechanism for stopping the rotation, two carriers on one shaft having, respectively, upper and lower case male dies, two carriers on the other shaft having, respectively, upper and lower case female dies, a housing embracing the four carriers, shift-lever mechanism connected with said housing, and mechanism for projecting juXta-posed dies toward each other to emboss an intermediate plate.

32. The combination of two rotary die carriers on aligned axes, upper and lower case male dies in said carriers, two rotary die carriers on a second axis parallel with the first, upper and lower case female dies in the last named carriers, a pair of shafts geared together and connected with the first two and last two carriers, respectively, means for continuously rotating said shafts, keyboard controlled mechanism for stopping the rotation, a pair of levers oscillated automatically consequent upon the stopping of the rotation, a pair of plunger mechanisms for projecting the dies and movably connected with said levers, respectively, and manually controlled shift mechanism for simultaneously moving the four carriers longitudinally and changing the connection accordingly between the two plunger mechanisms and their respective levers.

33. The combination of two sets of independently movable embossingdies, means for carrying them about an axis-keyboard controlled means for rotating them, manual shift mechanism for positioning one set or the other relative to the plate to be embossed. and automatic mechanism for projecting dies so positioned including a part movable b v .said shift mechanism.

34. The combination with upper and lower case male and female embossing dies, of carrying means in which the dies are movably mounted, means for moving the carrying means to position the dies, means for moving said dies relative to the carry: ing means to effect an embossing operation,

' and means for shifting the carrying means transversely of the direction of the embossing movement.

35. The combination of a set of upper and lower case male dies, a set of upper and lower case female dies, means for holding the two sets, means for operating the dies to effect an embossing operation, and means for changing the mutual presentation of the die holding means and the material to be embossed by movement transversely to the direction of the embossing movement so as to cause the dies of either case to be active.

36. In an embossing machine, "the combination with a pair of cooperative sets of male and female dies, of means for movably carrying such cooperative dies,'mechanism for operating the dies to effect an embossing operation, and shift mechanism for presenting either set hf cooperative dies to the operating mechanism, said shift mechanism being arranged to move the die carrying means laterally, and in a plane transversely to the embossing'movement.

37. In an embossing machine, the combination with cooperating character dies, of means for carrying the same. means' for bringing selected cooperating dies to active position, a means for moving said dies transversely of their positioning movement to effect the embossing, and shift mechanism adapted to give the carrying meansa movement transversely of both the positioning movement and the embossingmovement to cause a different set of characters to be so placed that they may become active.

38. In an embossing machine, the combination with means for carrying cooperating letter dies formed-on movable blocks, means for moving each block longitudinally of itself to effect an embossing operation, and a shift mechanism for moving the carrying means transversely to the embossing movement for changing from upper to lower case and vice versa.

39. The combination with two pairs of cooperating die carriers, dies carried thereby and arranged in two related sets, means for shifti the dies asa unit to present one pair 0 cooperative dies for embossing purposes, means for moving said last mentioned dies longitudinally thereof to efiect the embossing operations, and a shift mechanism for moving said die carriers in a direction transverse to the presenting movement and to the embossing movement.

-10. The combination with four movable die carriers. of male and female upper case dies and male and female lower case dies, carried thereby, respectively, mechanism for operating the dies in one plane relatively to the carriers for embossing purposes, and mechanism for shifting the die carriers for changing from one case to another.

41. In an embossing machine, the combination of die holding mechanism, dies therein held in opposite sets, means for operating opposed dies to efiect an embossing operation, means for moving the dies in a direction other than that of the embossing movement to position the dies, and ashiit mechanism for moving said die holding mechanism in a directon other than that of the embossing movement and the presenting movement for selecting certain of said dies.

42. The combination with die carrying means, of dies arranged therein in four sets, male and female, and upper and lower case, keyboard controlled positioning mechanism for positioning the dies relative to the material tobe embossed, automatically operating means for giving positioned dies their embossing movement in a direction other than the positioning movement, and shift mechanism for giving the die carrying means another movement relative to the material to be embossed and at right angles to that efl'ected by said automatically operating means, whereby the case of the active characters may be changed.

43, The combination with die carrying means, of an upper case set of male and female dies, and a. lowercase set of male and female dies carried thereby, means for moving the carrying means to present corresponding dies to active position, automatically actuated mechanism for moving into cooperation one of the pairs of the male and female dies which face each other, said mechanism being arranged to shift said last mentioned dies laterally and in a direction other than that resulting from the operation of the presenting means, and shift mechanism to change the presentation from upper to lower case and vice versa, said shift mechanism being arranged to move said die carrying means at right angles to thedirection of the movement produced by the presenting means, and at right angles to the direction of movement produced by the embossing means.

ALBERT H. BATES. 

